Atlanta Hawks: Suns 99, Hawks 90
Here is the updated game story of the Hawks’ loss to the Suns Monday, their third straight home defeat.
Apparently, there is no place like the road for the Hawks these days.
After a recently-completed 4-1 road trip, the Hawks dropped their third straight home game Monday night, this one a 99-90 defeat at the hands of the Suns.
The Hawks (16-7, 8-4 home) have now lost to the Grizzlies (by 19), 76ers (11) and Suns (nine). Their four-game homestand ends Wednesday against the Pacers. A road game at the Magic (Friday) and a home game against the Heat (Sunday) are next for the Hawks, who are 4-9 against teams that entered play Monday at .500 or better.
The Hawks entered the game concerned about Suns point guard Steve Nash – and for good reason. Nash scored a game-high 24 points with 11 assists, better than his league-leading 9.9 per game.
“He is still one of the better point guards in the league,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “He’s very crafty. He gets the ball to the open man. He’s still making shots.”
As much as they tried they couldn’t handle the NBA’s two-time MVP, who turns 38 Tuesday.
Much of the burden of stopping Nash fell to Hawks point guard Jeff Teague. Implored by Drew to be more aggressive, Teague had a dunk and a one-on-one move past Nash in the first quarter as the Hawks took a three-point lead at 16-13. That would be the highlight.
The Suns built a 16-point lead, 43-27, with a 30-11 run between the first and second quarters. Former Hawk Josh Childress punctuated the run with a dunk on a pass from Sebastian Telfair.
The run came as the Hawks struggled mightily from the field in the second quarter. Their second field goal didn’t come until 7:09 remaining. In all, the Hawks shot 8-for-20 in the quarter and finished the first half shooting 39.5 percent (17-for-43).
Most of the Suns’ points came in the paint. They had 16 points inside in the second quarter after only six in the opening stanza.
The Hawks used a run of their own to cut the lead to four points, 52-48, on a 3-pointer from Joe Johnson. However, they trailed by seven at the intermission when Nash hit a 3-pointer of his own at the buzzer. Nash had 17 first-half points.
“Like I’ve been saying, the continuity of our offense and our inability to stop dribble penetration has been a thorn in our side,” Josh Smith said. “If we correct those two things, nothing can stop us. You saw on those road games we had high assist totals. These last two or three games, it’s been low and the offense has been real stagnant.”
Teague picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter.
The Hawks pulled with two points, 60-58, as Joe Johnson and Smith each scored five points to open the third quarter. They would get no closer.
The Suns ended the third quarter with a 24-6 run, with Nash scoring six points, and their lead was 20, 84-64.
“We didn’t respond well to the runs, particularly in that second quarter,” Drew said. “I just don’t see how we respond as if the game is over. I was hoping we were past that point. It’s a point that we are going to have to get better at. This is the NBA. Teams make runs all the time. … It just seems to knock the wind out of our sails when a team makes a run when there is a lot of basketball left to play.”
The Suns (10-14) won their fourth straight against the Hawks. The teams meet again in Phoenix in nine days. Channing Frye added 19 points for the Suns and Jared Dudley and Michael Redd each finished with 10 points.
The Hawks fell 2.5 games behind the Heat in the Southeast Division. They were led by Smith with 18 points and Johnson with 17 points. The Hawks are 5-8 when Johnson fails to score 20 points. Willie Green added 14 points off the bench.
“We’ve kind of slacked off defensively,” Drew said before the game of the Hawks’ current three-game skid. “The start of the season, the one talk we had with the players was the fact that we had to establish an identity defensively. We’ve kind of gotten away from that a little bit.
“We can’t get in a mindset of coming out and trying to outscore people every night. We have to let our defense generate our offense. We’ve gotten away from it.”
The Hawks made a spirited fourth-quarter run, prompting the Suns to re-insert their starters with an 11-point lead with 3:53 remaining. The Hawks got as close as the final nine-point margin.
Hawks television color analyst, NBA Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins was ill and missed the game ill. He was replaced on the broadcast by another former Hawk, studio analyst Mike Glenn.
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262 comments Add your comment
Astro Joe
February 7th, 2012
1:22 pm
Flip got us out of the first round for $1M. And Willie Green will likely do the same. Willie Green, T-Mac, Ivan and Pargo ALL make less combined than $5M.
OB, I think the issue started when a captain started to discuss the way he’d like to see the PG play. Seems like everytime Teague has a very good offensive game, someone starts talking about ball movement, penetrating to set-up easy shots and getting others involved. I think most guys are on board with Teague as a lead guard and not a pure PG. But I think one captain is still working his way to agreement.
flash
February 7th, 2012
1:22 pm
Kirk and Marvin for Ellis and Udoh. Joe plays three, hawks have 2nd scorer and Udoh splits time with ZaZa. Warriors get expiring kirk and can play klay thompson more, plus might get back their first round pick if they tank enough
vava74
February 7th, 2012
1:23 pm
Rod,
Another reply down the drain due to the blog monster.
JR – he is good and if I were the coach yes.
With LD? HAH… no way.
Also, JR will command $$$$ and we will not do it.
LD – decent x n o’s guy, horrible at what is most important as an HC: manage the roster (characters, accountability), minutes, rotations and match ups.
Xs ‘n O’s can be always provided by assistants.
For me:
Green should be getting more minutes and JJ should be playing a lot more SF
There is no way that Hinrich in his current form should be eating up minutes from Pargo and Green. NO WAY.
Green keeps his TOs low and is a reliable shooter – also has bad nights but in general his shooting nights are more regular than other guys who are remarkably streaky.
Also, Green’s crossover is decent enough for him to use picks and drives to get mid range shots up.
Not a very good finisher at the rim due to poor athleticism but he is a poor man’s JJ.
drebaby
February 7th, 2012
1:24 pm
@Vava 74,i love that trade proposal.World Peace,would be a great fit for the Hawks.They need another player with toughness.9 to 5,is the only player they have that fits that description.
prison mike
February 7th, 2012
1:25 pm
I wonder what the general consensus is Jeremy Lin or Kirk Hinrich. I’m sure buddy would pick Kirk.
vava74
February 7th, 2012
1:26 pm
Rod,
On salaries:
JJ’s salary is directly caused by market and cap conditions. Overpriced yes, but only by about 20% IMO.
Horford is not worth more than 10 million, so also overpriced by 20%.
Josh is correctly priced at 13 million.
Marvin is not worth more than 3/4 million – if you remove the #2 pick tag and simply look at him as a role player, he does not hurt a roster if properly used. – so he is overpriced by 50%
Jamal was overpriced by 50% too.
GEN MANAGER
February 7th, 2012
1:44 pm
FOR WHATEVER REASON THE HAWKS COMES OUT FLAT ON HOME GAMES,ld needs to make a change to the starting 5,insert ivan johnson he is a natural energy player and the crowd loves him bring marvin off the bench he needs to do something real quick.
KCG
February 7th, 2012
1:45 pm
LOL at vava. Josh is worth 13 mil but Al is not worth 10mil. I guess that’s why we blog and don’t really run teams.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
2:05 pm
Buddy G – You give rise to almost all Hawks fans fear. You said: “Kirk isn’t any better than Pargo NOW but when he gets back in rhythm and back into game shape, Drew will feel like he’s justified in giving more and more of Teague’s minutes to Kirk. So for now he just chips in to Teague’s minutes a little bit. Take Teague out when he gets hot.. play him in shorter and shorter spurts. Kill Teague’s rhythm and he stops producing at the rate he did earlier in the season. All of a sudden Kirk’s numbers start to look better compared to Teague’s, then we all know what comes next… Kirk as the starter and Teague with irregular minutes as his backup, with a short leash to get yanked out of the game if LD sneezes.
Apprentice of Panic Larry Drew never stopped hating Jeff Teague, guys. Kirk’s injury robbed him of options, but all the options are back on the table now.”
Yep, I can see it happening.
And I do agree with AJ – Captain Josh gets in “rook” Teague’s head – rook as far as first year starting.
Only trade I see that makes us marginally better, if the Mavs would do it to dump a bad contract, is Marvin and maybe some picks for Haywood and hopefully Dominique Jones.
Lineup:
Haywood/ZaZa
Josh/Ivan
VladRad/TMac
JJ/Green
Teague/Hinrich
Am I comfortable starting Vlad Rad at SF? No, but I think he and TMac could hold down the fort possibly until you could make another move. And I’m not sure playing Stack 8-10 minutes every nite would kill us in that scenario either.
And I know Dominique Jones is only 6-5 220, but the guys a phenomenal athlete – he could possible give us some minutes at the 3 as well.
But the Mavs probably want to hang onto Haywood – Centers are valuable in the NBA right now.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
2:08 pm
I looked at that Marvin for Artest (MWP) trade also – Artest would probably be a good fit, but is he done or what? His stats aren’t all that good for the Lakers this season.
Spyro
February 7th, 2012
2:15 pm
Apparently the Clips just waived Solomon Jones… I’d be interested in picking him back up.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
2:19 pm
The DeMarcus Cousins story shows us the importance of Head Coaching, at least to this point. Part of the story from SBNation reads:
“Keith Smart, who was known for his ability to reach players as an assistant and head coach at Golden State, took over and immediately unleashed Cousins. He has let Cousins play through mistakes. He has put Cousins in a position (the post) where he is more likely to succeed. He has loaded up the minutes and doesn’t pull DMC after a few unsuccessful possessions.
Cousins has rewarded Smart and the Kings with the sort of production we all expected when he ascended from the University of Kentucky.
Cousins had 28 points and 19 rebounds on Monday against the New Orleans Hornets; he tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds during a second half comeback. More importantly, he’s clearly taking a leadership role on a team that desperately needs a vocal leader. After being bumped around by Hornets’ big men Emeka Okafor, Gustavo Ayon and Chris Kaman for much of the first half, Cousins lashed out at a ref in the second quarter and earned a technical foul. From that point on, the Kings ran the table and took over the game. Smart talked to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee about the tech.
“What was good during that time was he didn’t explode,” Smart said. “That’s growth. He stayed under control and went down the floor playing basketball and probably said something to the official that he probably shouldn’t have said. Nevertheless, I was happy he never said it within the flow of the basketball game, and that was growth right there.”
This is no longer about Westphal, but how Smart handled that situation (a tech for arguing with a huge deficit on the road) was the exact opposite of how it would have been dealt with last year. And guess what? This way works. Allowing Cousins to make a mistake, learn from it and continue to play opened up the opportunity for that monster second half (one in which the refs heeded DMC’s complaint and gave him five free throws).
Emile Avanessian of Hardwood Hype breaks down Cousins’ impressive numbers under Smart, and how impressive they are: he’s one of nine players in the league average at least one steal and one block, he’s No. 3 in double-doubles behind Kevin Love and Dwight Howard, he’s shot better than 50 percent in eight of his 15 games under Smart, sits in the top eight in every rebound rate category and No. 4 overall.
Five weeks ago, Westphal made Cousins look like a monster. Now Cousins is doing that job himself, on the court. It’s no surprise that, as a result, the Kings are 7-10 under Smart with a road-heavy schedule (six home, 11 road) and looking like the best of the West’s non-playoff contenders. “
Melvin
February 7th, 2012
2:21 pm
I think the Hawks would have a hard time finding a taker for Marvin contract. I think we could only get a player that has fallen out favor with his current team and makes near or more than what Marvin makes in return. Think, Stephen Jackson or John Salmons.
Rod,
I would love to have JR Smith on this team. If I had my way, I would trade Hinrich to the Lakers for their 8.9mil TPE (and a 1st rd pick if possible) then sign JR Smith with using the full MLE. Then I would try to flip the Lakers 1st rd pick and TPE to the Kings for Jason Thompson or sign a big using the 3mil we saved from the difference of Hinrich/JR contracts.
Running out of steam
February 7th, 2012
2:21 pm
The end is near….the real hawks are showing up….start out fast and fade away…..they need lottery picks or they will always be mediocre.
1st or 2nd round playoff exit AGAIN…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Branded/tattoo league is a bunch of wannabees
February 7th, 2012
2:25 pm
Hawks haven’t been fun to watch since Hubie and Fratello were coaches and there was a diverse team that won. And tattoo less league was easier to watch.
ryan
February 7th, 2012
2:50 pm
Hawks have given up Larry Drew may get the pink slip soon we can only hope but if we get rid Drew will the ASG hire another cheap coach i would not expect a big name coach coming .
Najeh Davenpoop
February 7th, 2012
2:55 pm
“I wonder what the general consensus is Jeremy Lin or Kirk Hinrich. I’m sure buddy would pick Kirk.”
Lin has played well for a grand total of two games. Even Salim Stoudamire had a few really good games here and there. Let’s give him some time before making him out to be something special.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 7th, 2012
2:55 pm
That being said if anyone wants Jeremy Lin in the fantasy league prop me a trade.
Tmac fan
February 7th, 2012
2:57 pm
LD is pissing me off. Give Tracy Mcgrady minutes & the hawks will win. Tmac should be the first player off the bench for the point – power forward
Rufus1
February 7th, 2012
2:58 pm
The Allstar Bid..
Once Josh and Joe stop BATTLING for the ALLSTAR bid, we will get back to playing solid basketball..
This slide is all about Josh and Joe being selfish…They are no making the extra pass or playing sound defense.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 7th, 2012
3:03 pm
“How about Josh and Kirk for Pau? We know Josh is gone right? We all know that? Hello? Blog Land? You do know that 12 months from now, Josh Smith will not be a Hawk right?”
Like I said on the previous blog, I’m fine with a Josh for Pau trade, since Pau is a better player. But if the Hawks do that, they can’t expect to play Gasol and Horford at PF and C and expect to be a good defensive team. Neither one is going to intimidate anyone coming through the lane.
I’m a little more hesitant about Josh for Lopez, especially after Lopez’s rebounding rate plummeted last year. Lopez is talented enough to where the dice roll might work. Not convinced he’s capable of not being soft though.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 7th, 2012
3:04 pm
I really liked the Josh for Chandler and Markieff Morris trade that someone posted a couple of blogs ago. Chandler is the perfect kind of center to play with Teague/Joe/Al. He’s not as good of a player as Gasol, but he might be a better fit for the rest of this team.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 7th, 2012
3:09 pm
Apparently the Hawks have committed the least fouls in the league.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:10 pm
Najeh – That was Just Joe who proposed that trade – I just don’t know that the Knicks would give up Chandler at this point.
Checked the stats for C’s yesterday – Horford at last seasons 15.3 PPG would be 4th in the NBA in scoring among all C’s right now. Good C’s are difficult to come by right now.
If the Clips would trade him, I’d even take Trey Thompkins for a couple of 2nd picks right now. He’s 6-10 245, and a natural PF, but could give some minutes at C. You’d also have a backup plan in case Josh walks in Free Agency or trade.
Ivan’s a pretty good backup plan at PF himself.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:12 pm
Najeh – But i must mention the trade intrigued me as well – the Chandler trade – seemed about the most fair, realistic trade out there for all of the teams involved.
And some team that really wants Dwight may overpay for Josh, if they think it will help them in landing Dwight.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:15 pm
I still say Al, Marvin, Hinrich for Dwight is a good deal, but I would only do it if Dwight agreed to pick up his option for next season at the very least.
Ok, I’m selfish, and want to keep JJ, Josh, and Teague to go with Dwight. I have no idea if the Magic would do that trade, but with Otis at GM you never know.
prison mike
February 7th, 2012
3:23 pm
Najeh, nobody is crowning Lin. For THIS YEAR, Lin is better than Kirk. He has the ability to play defense and get to the lane.
Kirk is struggling to stay with backup guards. He’s proven to be injury prone as well.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:24 pm
At this point Hinrich for Miller and Tolliver from the ‘Wolves makes sense for both teams. Miller and Tolliver are out of the rotation in Minny, with Pekovic and Darko at C and Love with Randolph at PF. And we desp. need bigs.
Tolliver may thrive a little here – he used to be a very good jump shooter – I haven’t checked his stats this season.
Of course we would need to cut Stack to make that happen.
Speaking of which, the cuts of Pargo and Stack are due by Feb. 10th if they are going to happen. Internet chatter is that these things will happen sooner rather than later for paperwork purposes etc. Could happen as soon as today it has been reported, that these non-guaranteed guys start getting released.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:27 pm
The ‘Wolves need Hinrich also – he would be a great rest of the year compliment to Wayne Ellington.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:29 pm
Ivan is also non-guaranteed, but I think the only way he gets cut, is if he were to tell Coach Drew the truth or something.
Grandad
February 7th, 2012
3:32 pm
O`B – I second your AJ assessment:
” I think we’re looking at chemistry issues more
than we are personnel or on-court performance ”
-AJ-
____________________________________________
Pargo turns it over too much;
and he is a shooting guard in a pg body.
He looks for his own shot rather than set the offense `’` or ‘`’
make his teammates better by looking for them in their spots.
He is, however, a pretty good on ball defender;
as is Kirk – a noted exceptional defender !
____________________________________________
I swear;
If kirk and Al were not white;
I do not think they would catch half the crap, on this blog,
that seems to fly their way !
____________________________________________
We; as in ‘`our Hawks`’ must trade Josh Smith Immediately !
It’s the only way out.
Complaining about ball movement; [Joe] however justified;
and stopping ball penetration [Teaguer] without looking in the mirror
and accepting any respnsibility himself; shows continued immaturity.
Thus, he still does not, nor will he ever get ‘`it`’. -IMO-
____________________________________________
Astro Joe
February 7th, 2012
3:33 pm
Steve, I think Howard has pretty much made it clear that Atlanta is NOT on his list. And why would Ivan have anything negative to say to the one and only NBA head coach who gave him an NBA job as a 27 YO rookie? Dude should be nothing but appreciative for the opportunity that 29 other teams didn’t provide.
Astro Joe
February 7th, 2012
3:38 pm
It will be interesting to monitor the Knicks performance while Melo is hurt. Will his absence from the Knicks affect them like it has the Nuggets?
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:52 pm
Well, the battle ends tomorrow nite for the lone ATL All Star berth. Somebody is going to be snubbed. This include players throughout the League. Does Philly get anybody in? 1? 2? Lou Williams? Igoudala? Does Hibbert make it? What about Deng and Brandon Jennings? Rondo?
But the Hawks will almost assuredly have one, but only 1, player in. Is it going to be Josh or JJ.
Josh has the higher PER at 19.0 to 18.4
But JJ is 17th in the NBA in scoring, and 1st among SG’s in scoring among those who qualify in the East (Wade has missed to many games).
But Josh is 4th in scoring among PF’s in the East, 3rd in rebounds, 1st in Blocks.
But JJ is 6th among all players in the East in the number of 3 pointers made.
And as MC points out, JJ has been playing great D this season.
But Josh came in 2nd in DPOY just a season and a half ago.
It looks to me like Josh edges JJ this season.
But JJ is acknowledged around the League as ATL’s best (maybe not most talented, but best) player.
And JJ does have 5 straight All Star games on his resume. That does carry weight with Coaches. They’ll throw a guy in, Like KG the past couple of seasons, or Tim Duncan last season, when maybe it was time for some new blood.
So we shall see. I hope both get in, but not likely.
O'Brien
February 7th, 2012
3:52 pm
Rod,
In 2 seasons with ATL, Jamal averaged 30.5 mpg. This year in Portland, they are playing him 25.8 mpg. Oh by the way, in Portland, he is shooting 32% from 3, and 38% from the field.
For his career, JR Smith averages 24 mpg. Once Jamal became a bench scorer, his minutes should be limited to 25 mpg (unless he is on fire of course). But too often, he played 30+ minutes despite putting up brick after brick, not getting rebounds, and defense not up to par.
The key with Jamal is the HC needs to know how to use him properly. LD does not have a good feel for substitution and minutes distribution, so I would pass on Jamal.
The bad thing for the Hawks is JJ might be a proven scorer, but he has become a proven scorer only when playing bad teams. Hawks have played 25 games this season. In 13 of those games, JJ failed to reach 20 points. Our record is 5-8 in those 13 games, and of course those 8 losses all came against teams over .500.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:54 pm
AJ – That was a jab at LD, nothing more.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:57 pm
AJ – Also, if you’ve done some history on Ivan, he has a history of tremendous blowups. So I could see him going to LD and saying what you said about Captain Josh – telling the truth, and LD not appreciating it too much.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
3:58 pm
All I know is when I become a multi-billionare, I want AJ and Northcyde working for me. They really give leadership an incredible benefit of the doubt.
SteveW
February 7th, 2012
4:00 pm
AJ – And about Howard – that’s today – you never know what tomorrow holds for a hometown guy. These prima-donna athletes may change their mind on a whim. He is only 25,26.
joeygt1
February 7th, 2012
4:09 pm
being a longtime hawks fan is hard… they are so frustrating to watch…one game they look like championship contenders and they other they look like a lottery bound team..al horford being out has been harder for the hawks then expected bc while the hawks were winning it was against smaller teams..look the last thre games we have faced 3 bigger teams as in pf and the c postion and we got dominated.. sund we need to get a competant big in here pronto.. if not this losing streak with the hawks will get worse
Grandad
February 7th, 2012
4:10 pm
SteveW
You may be over-analyzing Ivan.
If he has a problem with Josh;
he’s more likely to clock him one and be done with it;
rather than talk about it !
Grandad
February 7th, 2012
4:11 pm
” clock him one ”
country for ” knock him on his ass with one swift punch “
O'Brien
February 7th, 2012
4:12 pm
From the memphis commercial appeal;
NBA teams must guarantee contracts Friday but have until 5 p.m. today to cut players so that they clear waivers by Friday..
If that’s the case, we should know something today. Personally, I dont think Hawks will waive anybody. We will go with what we have, and sign somebody to a 10 day contract until Twin comes back.
The team we have right now is the team we will have after the trade deadline (imo). But I really hope I’m wrong.
Grandad
February 7th, 2012
4:14 pm
We can only hope Josh makes All-Star !
Compressed season – Joe needs his rest.
Josh plays – then trade him and his All-Star credentials !
Jay Dubu
February 7th, 2012
4:18 pm
The Hawks are 3 and 7 against teams that are .500 or better. Two of those 7 losses were to the Heat and Bulls, bith games that they should have won.
They lost to the Heat @ home with LBJ and Wade in street clothes, and to the Bulls after blowing a 19 point secon half lead, (enterd the 4th quarter with a 14 point leat).
If you’re a playoff team, you should not lose to Memphis and Phoenix by a combined 28 points on your home court. Some of the blowout tendancies that they displayed last season are starting to show up again.
Grandad
February 7th, 2012
4:19 pm
O`B:
waive:
* Collins
* Stack
* Pargo
In that order.
Nobody will pick up any of these guys;
we can then re-sign any or all, 10 day contract, whatever ?
honest_abe
February 7th, 2012
4:26 pm
this is new low for the city of atlanta. there’s about as much interest in and around the city as there was when the hawks won 13 games. at least back then there was hope. hope for draft picks, hope for the future. now it’s just about facing the reality of watching josh (el captain) find new ways to suck. GET RID OF JOSH!
dapluva!
February 7th, 2012
4:26 pm
We need a center dammit point blank
KevinM
February 7th, 2012
4:33 pm
I dont think we subtract anyone either…we are already down 2 bodies.
We simply find us an unused post guy that’s sitting or that has just been waived by Memphis who appears to be in shape and we throw him on our bench. LD won’t have any trust in whomever Sund brings in. And Sund isn’t bringing in potential.
Jay Dubu
February 7th, 2012
4:36 pm
Astro Joe,
Hinrich is making almost 9.5 time what Green makes, which doesn’t allow the Hawk to make a move that could really help them. Not that it’s Kurts fault that the Hawks were willing to pay him that much…just saying that could be why no one wrote post ripping Green.